The “Facebook Papers” explode before the platform’s results report

Facebook was hit by scathing reports from at least a dozen US media outlets based on internal documents on Monday, just hours before the company’s planned earnings release.

The social media giant has faced a storm of criticism since its former employee Frances Haugen leaked internal studies showing the company was aware of the potential damage its websites were causing, prompting US lawmakers to renew pressure for its regulation.

Monday’s reports blame the boss of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, that the platform bows to state censors in Vietnam, allows hate speech to rise internationally due to linguistic deficiencies, and knows that its algorithm fuels toxic polarization online.

“Facebook Papers are so damning, so disturbing, so disgusting, and they should lead to swift action at the federal level”Tweeted Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout, referring to the nickname given to the company’s information leak.

Journalistic organizations such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and Wired are among those that have received access to the set of internal Facebook documents that Haugen originally leaked to the US authorities and that were the basis of a series of scathing articles by the The Wall Street Journal newspaper.

Facebook He described the information as a partial publication of his internal studies whose aim was to create a negative and inaccurate impression about the social network, used by billions of people.

The company plans to publish its quarterly earnings on Monday, which soared during the pandemic due to the mass use of online tools by people who sought to shelter at home from the virus.

Haugen, who will testify to British lawmakers on Monday, has repeatedly said that the company puts its continued growth and therefore profits, the well-being and safety of users first.

Backstage

Facebook It has already been plagued by major crises, but revelations about what goes on behind the scenes at the company have fueled a frenzy of scathing reporting and a renewed push from US lawmakers to take action on social media regulation.

The Washington Post article published Monday claimed that Zuckerberg had personally signed an initiative by the authoritarian government of Vietnam to limit the circulation of so-called “anti-state” publications.

A Politico report called the documents a “Treasury for Washington’s Antitrust Fight”Against the platform, revealing internal employee chats about Facebook’s global dominance.

Critics of Facebook pounced last week on a report according to which the social network plans to change its name, arguing that it could be looking to distract from recent scandals and controversies.

The Verge website report, which Facebook declined to confirm, saying the company intended to showcase its ambition to be more than just a social media site.

Despite the numerous controversies Facebook has faced, the United States authorities have not created substantial new legislation to regulate social media.

The company has recovered from other scandals such as Cambridge Analytica, a British consultancy that used the personal data of millions of Facebook users to target political ads.

Then, Zuckerberg He went to Washington to apologize and the company agreed with US regulators a payment of US $ 5 billion.